Statement of Nelson L. Michael, M.D., Ph.D

STATEMENT
OF
Nelson L. Michael, M.D.,Ph.D
1400-1530
1 December 1992
COL Dangerfield began our meeting with an explanation of the
informal investigation and the tasks for which he was responsible
to determine facts; he reviewed the allegations that had prompted
the investigation and asked if I had any knowledge pertinent to
them.
When I arrived in LTC Redfield's Department of Retroviral
Research in September 89, I was urged by him to develop methodology
to measure HIV-1 nucleic acids in vivo and I was assigned to work
under the supervision of Dr. Vahey in this project. We worked very
closely for over two years and settled on a quantitative polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) assay for viral DNA, total RNA and individual
spliced transcripts following comparison studies in cell line
models. The application of this assay resulted in the resolution
of two major questions in HIV pathogenesis and in two major
publications in the Journal of Virology; I was first author for
both. Because the assay was validated in natural history
infections, we (Drs Redfield, Vahey and I) decided to apply it to
the gpl60 Phase I (RV21) safety and immunogenicity trial in
November 1991. Dr. Vahey was assigned by LTCs Redfield and Birx to
be the lead investigator on this project. Although I had largely
conceived, developed and refined the assay, I was very satisfied
with that decision because I had two other research projects that
required my attention. My close contact with Dr. Vahey continued
on these two projects and to a lesser extent on the viral burden
assays. Initially, this interaction was frequent regarding her
general progress and with her technicians regarding technical
matters but this diminished over time.
MAJ Daniel R. Lucey, USAF, had joined the department in August
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